Mourning The Loss of a Rock N’ Roll Icon

This week marked a profound loss in the world of rock n’ roll music. I am, of course, referring to the theft of my Motorhead CD, No Sleep ’til Hammersmith, from my car which was parked in downtown Vancouver.

The Loss in its Political and Social Context

Of course, the loss of this important artifact cannot be looked at without also looking at the political and socio-economic context in which it was stolen. With the good people of British Columbia having essentially enshrined poverty and crime by voting in the B.C. Liberals for a third term, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that petty criminals see in the conduct of their corrupt political overlords justification for ripping off classic metal discs. Though they are nominally called “The Liberals”, Campbell and his toadies are only “Liberal” if you consider Robert Mugabe “Conservative”.

Bomber: Convicted drunk driver and BC premier, Gordon Campbell getting his mug shot taken in a non-Canadian jurisdiction, which is the only reason it couldn't be hushed-up

Early Years

My copy of No sleep was purchased at the old Zulu Records location in the 1800-block of W. 4th Ave, which has since been razed and I believe the site is now the location of upscale Pinky’s Steakhouse.

"I'm sorry sir, but on behalf of Pinky's, I'm going to have to ask you to leave"

The disc had two bonus studio tracks—an alternate version of “Capricorn” and a cover of  ”Train Kept-A-Rollin’”. The best part about the two bonus tracks was, although they were studio recordings, they dubbed in the sound of a crowd cheering, which always amused me to no end. I remember doing the same thing on cassettes of my band in junior high school—but we were in grade 9!

Trials and Tribulations

My Motorhead CD also faced its share of difficulties. I remember back in 1997 when I was working on my bike on the balcony of my apartment, I went to put No Sleep ’til Hammersmith in my CD player and got a greasy thumbprint on the disc that is still there to this day. I’m sure it would help the cops identify the purloined metal disc–that is if they could stop chowing down on Tim Hortons Donuts long enough to look for the thing.

This is a pretty accurate portrayal of how the cops responded when I asked them about the chances of them finding my Motorhead CD:

Luckily, I’ve still got the bastard in my iTunes.

My Copy of No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith: 1996-2009

Goodnight, sweet prince